Being Pregnant in France

Hello there,

I'm currently 35w FTM living in France, thought I'll give you a quick glance at how is it to be preggo in the country of unpasteurised cheese and raw minced meat. I've read a lot of post from moms that I think are mostly from the US and I think the experience might be different.

Doctor appointment:

So we can do our monthly follow up either with a "freelance" midwife (outside of the hospital) , an obgyn or a normal GP. Being followed from start to end at the hospital is quite uncommon nowadays.

French midwives have also more responsibilities than in the rest of Europe, they can order tests, issue sick leave, do scans if they are trained, and basically take care of everything as long as the pregnancy is without issues. I was seeing mine outside the hospital but now that I'm 8M along I've been passed on to the hospital midwives. Midwife study is a minimum of 5 years +1 if they specialise in scans.

During my monthly appointment she takes my tension, measure the bump, listen to the bb heartbeat, check my blood tests etc. Nowadays there is no vaginal check until the 8th month,

I've got to do monthly urine and blood test checking for toxoplasmosis and protein in the urine. I've also had to do the DNA check for T21 and other genetic diseases.

Scans:

Alongside our monthly appointment we also have a minimum of 3 scans : 13w, 22w and 30w,

I've had a total of 7 so far as someone was moving a bit too much and is a bit chubby for his age.

Due to abortion law in France we are not able to know the sex of the baby before the 2nd scans, or before the 16w, basically when abortion isn't possible anymore.

Birth:

So in the vast majority we are giving birth at the hospital. We've got on of the highest rate of epidural in the world 83%. You need to tell them if you don't want it rather than the contrary. However nowadays it won't completely knock you out and they dose it for you to still be able to walk around. We normally stay 3 days for a vaginal birth and 5 days for a c section.

In my hospital I'll have a private room, visits are completely forbidden only the second parents and the baby's siblings are allowed. Which is honestly much welcomed.

Price:

So yeah everything is pretty much free from your second trimester onwards, if you go public care with the normal health insurance and your secondary health insurance. Im around 70 euros out of pocket since the start. The only thing I'll have to pay at the hospital is the bed for my husband.

Maternity leave:

So my experience might differ a bit from my fellow countrywomen here. I don't work in France but in Switzerland so even if all my care is done is France I'm subject to Swiss work regulations.

To make it short, where I am in Switzerland, we got 4 months of leave after the birth with capped salary at maximum 3000 CHF a month.

In France you get 16 weeks, 6 before birth and 10 after, 100% of your salary. Which is great but compared to the rest of Europe is pretty bad. The dad gets 1 month off.

I think I've covered most things, don't hesitate if you have questions or if my fellow franchise wants to add or correct anything!